Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Add Good to your Google News feed.
Google News Button

Inside the Political Jungle: The Top 6 Animals Who Served in Government

This year’s presidential candidates are fighting like cats and dogs. Fortunately, there’s precedent for that.

Rafi Schwartz
By Rafi SchwartzDec 18, 2015
Rafi Schwartz
Rafi Schwartz still wants that jetpack he was promised. His work has appeared in Heeb magazine, The Forward, Death + Taxes, and more. When in doubt he'll have the soup.
See Full Bio

“If you want a friend in Washington, get a dog.”

That line allegedly comes from Harry S. Truman, and while its presidential origin is questionable, the underlying sentiment is clear: Washington—and politics in general—can be a tough place for human beings. Perhaps that’s why Barisk, an 18-month-old Scottish Fold cat, was able to beat his Homo sapiens competitors by a huge margin in a recent online poll for the upcoming mayoral elections in the Siberian city of Barnaul, home to around 700,000 people.

He’s not alone.

Throughout history there have been nonhumans who managed to claw their way into elections—even winning a few, against all odds. From cats and dogs to more exotic animals, electoral history is peppered with instances of interspecies candidates: some serious, some satirical, and each a unique entry in the larger enterprise we call “democracy.”

These are a few of our favorites.

elections and politics

The Latest

English accents, global accents, The New Travel, Dan Vineberg, YouTube accents, language diversity, English worldwide, second language, native speakers, dialects, pronunciation, cultural diversity, linguistics, speech patterns, international English, accent video, viral video, multilingual, global voices, language map
Past Events

Incredible video shows people speaking English in 65 accents

penny, us treasury, penny facts, fun facts, history
Money

After over 230 years, we say goodbye to the penny. Here’s how much it cost to make one.

Heidi Johnson, tough love, mom, parenting, viral letter, Facebook, 13-year-old, YouTuber son, accidental viral post, parenting debate, roommate letter
Past Events

A mom's 'tough love' letter to her 'YouTuber' son went viral. Then the online shaming began.

Anna Trupiano, deaf, hard of hearing, sign language, ASL, teaching, viral story, linguistic access, fart story, first grade
Past Events

Teacher hilariously had to explain to deaf students that people can hear their farts

More For You

mandoline slicer, injury, nightmare stories, cooking tips, chefs

Even professional chefs are wary of this kitchen tool.

Photo credit: Canva

Chefs reveal the most feared common kitchen tool that even scares the pros

Working in the kitchen always requires a sense of caution. You have to be mindful of burners, possible contamination, spills, and so on. Chefs, home cooks, and regular people who just want to make a grilled cheese sandwich know this. We’re told to be careful with knives, wash our hands, and use potholders, etc. However, there is one common kitchen tool that even the most seasoned veterans of the kitchen still fear. They're sure to white-knuckle whenever they see a person use it for the first time or the fiftieth, and that tool is the mandoline slicer.

For those who don’t know, a mandoline slicer is a tool used to slice fruits and vegetables into incredibly thin slices or julienne slices (long matchstick-like cuts). The purpose is to create thin, even slices, either so they cook well according to the recipe or to elevate a slice for aesthetic purposes. How it works is the food is slid along an adjustable plane surface until it reaches a sharp mounted blade at a fixed point, slicing the food and letting it fall.

Keep ReadingShow less
viral story, fashion fail, hidden pattern, optical illusion, imgur, funny fashion, nsfw, mom

(L) Woman looks at the ocean; (R) a summer dress

(L) Canva; (R) Imgur

Mom wears summer dress for years before finally noticing the risqué pattern in plain sight

Most people have that one go-to item in their closet. It might be a ratty old t-shirt from a concert, a perfectly worn-in pair of jeans, or a college sweatshirt that has seen better days. They're the pieces that feel comfortable, familiar, and just plain you.

For one mom, that staple item was a breezy, floral-print summer dress. It was, by all accounts, an unremarkable garment she had worn for years without a second thought. That all changed when her child, an Imgur user, took a much, much closer look.

Keep ReadingShow less
food labels, marketing buzzwords, advertisements, consumer reports, economy

How much of this juice is "made with real fruit" anyway?

Photo credit: Canva

Experts and consumers reveal 11 marketing terms and phrases that mean absolutely nothing

Many people are looking for the best products at the best price. That’s been a reality since the invention of commerce. And ever since money was created as a means to exchange for goods and services, advertising has crept in and bombarded us with phrases, buzzwords, and terms in order to coax us into buying their products over their competitors’ offerings. Some words are more effective than others, but there are some terms marketers use that have been proven effective in increasing their sales that don’t mean what you may think that they do. In fact, they mean nothing.

We at GOOD talked to marketing experts, read what folks were posting online, and chatted around the office to discuss the buzzwords and terms you see all the time in advertising that turn out to mean absolutely nothing. Maybe you know them, but some may surprise you.

Keep ReadingShow less
Terry Virts, astronaut, pyramids, Pyramids of Giza, International Space Station, ISS, NASA, space photography, View From Above, Expedition 43

(L) Earth observation taken by the Expedition 43 crew;

(L) JSC via NASA; (R) Earth Sciences and Image Analysis Laboratory at Johnson Space Center via NASA

Astronaut makes the most of his last day on the ISS by capturing absolutely stunning shot of the pyramids

When you're an astronaut floating 250 miles above the Earth, you have the best view in the solar system. But getting the perfect shot isn't as easy as it sounds. For American astronaut Terry Virts, one subject remained elusive for his entire 200-day mission on the International Space Station (ISS): the pyramids of Giza.

According to a report from IFL Science, Virts, who was commander of Expedition 43 in 2015, had been trying for months to capture a crystal-clear image of the ancient wonders. He finally succeeded on his very last day in space.

Keep ReadingShow less
parenting, child psychology, effective parenting, phrases for kids, what to say to kids, parenting hacks, communication, positive parenting, toddlers, discipline

Parent scolds their child

Canva

Child experts reveal the 5 phrases that don't work on kids—and the 5 that do

Every parent has been there. You're frustrated, your child isn't listening, and you're just done. In that moment, it’s all too easy to let a "Because I said so!" slip out. But as child psychologists and parenting experts continually point out, the problem might not be that your kids aren't listening—it might be that the phrases we're using are completely ineffective.

Luckily, child psychologists have found five of the least effective yet common phrases parents use on their kids and offer some quality alternatives that work. There are also five phrases provided by child psychologists that parents can use to help their children and strengthen their relationships.

Keep ReadingShow less
butt rock, creed, nickelback, butt rock songs, millennial music

Even butt-rock haters should be able to appreciate these six staples.

Photo credit: Republic Country Club via Wikimedia Commons, Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 (cropped)

Millennial-era 'butt rock' is making a comeback. Here are 6 songs even haters should love.

If you spend much time reading about music on the Internet, there’s a good chance you’ve learned about a supposed revival of the "butt rock" genre. It’s a slippery and loosely defined term—one thrown around in both derogatory and affectionate ways, depending on the source. But these days, it’s widely used to describe the crop of guitar-heavy bands, including Creed and Nickelback, that emerged during the post-grunge bloom of the late '90s and early 2000s. Now that this millennial-friendly music has reached a certain vintage, it’s officially entering "classic rock" territory—a depressing reminder of mortality for anyone who may have owned a pair of JNCO jeans or browsed the CD-singles section at FYE.

But let’s back up for a second. Where did this whole label even come from? One widely circulated theory claims that it originated as a spin on the tag lines of certain alternative radio stations from this era—the ones that specialized in "nothing but rock." Others say the phrase dates back further: Stephen Kallao, a contributing host of World Cafe, the syndicated radio show from Philadelphia station WXPN, says "butt rock" refers to the "very machismo, hyper-sexualized cousin of glam rock" that emerged in the late '70s and early '80s. No one has concrete answers, but there does seem to be a clear consensus, at least by 2025 standards, on the definitive bands.

Keep ReadingShow less
Jimmie Smith, lottery winner, New York Lottery, expired ticket, $24 million, jackpot, good news, lucky, New Jersey, retired security guard

A man collects an over-size novelty lottery check

New York Gaming Commission

Man finds $24 million lottery ticket in his shirt right before the winning numbers expired

It’s a story of procrastination that could have been a $24 million tragedy. For an entire year, the New York Gaming Commission had been searching for the mystery winner of a $24.1 million New York Lotto jackpot, sold in May 2016. As the one-year deadline to claim the prize approached, they launched a media blitz.

"A lucky New Yorker has a $24 million Lotto payday just waiting — but the winner has to act fast as time is running out," Gweneth Dean, director of the commission's Division of the Lottery, said in a statement reported by The Washington Post. "We urge New York Lottery players: Check your pockets. Check your glove box. Look under the couch cushions. If you have this winning ticket, we look forward to meeting you."

Keep ReadingShow less
© Copyright 2025